“While it would be great to have Darryl on the field this season, we feel it is in his best interest and the best interest of our program for him to redshirt,” said Hoke. “Darryl will continue to be an important part of our team and family. He has done everything we have asked him to do, but our number one priority is to help Darryl grow as a person.”

Hoke also announced the suspension of sophomore punter Will Hagerup (Milwaukee, Wis./Whitefish Bay HS) for the first four games of the season and junior wide receiver Terrence Robinson (Klein, Texas/Oak HS) for the season opener for violating team rules.

Stonum's redshirt is obviously an effect of his second DUI in two years; Hagerup and Robinson's naughtiness is unknown.

Stonum's absence will be felt, as no one on the roster has his combination of size and speed. Michigan still has seniors Martavious Odoms and Junior Hemingway, though, and those two were about as productive as Stonum was. Folks like to rotate their wide receivers, though, and without Stonum the backups are untested Je'Ron Stokes, Jeremy Jackson, and Jerald Robinson. Michigan might think about getting Roundtree some reps on the outside now.

This is Hagerup's second strike after he missed the Ohio State game last year for the proverbial undisclosed violation of team rules. In his stead Seth Broekhuizen took over, averaging 29 yards a kick. Michigan will probably turn to freshman Matt Wile; Wile averaged 42 yards per attempt as a high school senior.

Robinson probably wasn't going to play anyway.

SILVER LINING: If Stonum can get someone to drive him around this year, his return in 2012 should soften the blow of losing Odoms and Hemingway. Michigan still needs receivers stat.

SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE W/ MICHAEL FLOYD: Floyd had two MIPs, which are nothing, and the one DUI. Stonum had two DUIs and went to jail for not doing the probation on the first one. Please refrain from outing yourself as a derp by derping about Notre Derp.

Don, I hate to agree with you but I do. I used to look forward to gaining MGoPoints like it was some incredibly important status symbol worth my every attempt to increase. Now, I just look forward to Don insulting me and my subsequent fits of crying.

I currently do not have the power to vote, but I do know that asking about points/downvotes is often seen as bitching about it and that just leads to getting negged more and more. It's better just to move on and let it go.

The voting system is imprecise. There is no tag for "I disagree" or "the thing you said is stupid." Downvotes are usually cast as Trolling or Flamebait. The number will tell you what people think more than the label will.

With that said, the first rule about MGoPoints (and, by extension, voting)...

except for the fact that Floyd hasn't been punished at all. I am not saying you are wrong in stating that, because I don't know myself, but being suspended for games isn't the only means of punishing players.

What I mean is he may well have been doing stadium steps at 4 am everyday since this happened, we don't know. What we do know is he has not been suspended for any games (which I agree with you, is a joke) but we can't really say for sure that he hasn't been punished at all.

I like you other points as well (from your other post) about Hagerup being suspended 4 games for a second violation of team rules (one game for the first, which happened to be the biggest game of the year). Clearly we have a different idea of punishment here at UM than they do at ND. Which of us is the big Catholic school again?

but all it really does is change the number of WR's he is able to take. The staff were saying they were looking to take 2 WR's so that will obviously move down to 1. It doesn't really change much especially since we don't even have any WR's committed at this point. We just take one less.

We were upset because we don't have anyone who can cover him one-on-one (hell, we don't have two DBs who can bracket him consistently... not that anyone does), so a two-game suspension would have been really, REALLY handy.

pretty well this year. ND doesn't really have any other major receiving threats this year, and we don't really know anything about their run game yet either. It'll be easier than last year when we had to worry about Rudolph too. Plus we won't be giving the receivers 15 yard cushions either, so I'm just kinda, maybe guessing that not doing that will help.

Coach Hoke is trying to motivate Stonum to be aware that bad decisions have consequences, so he'll be out for a year. This compares to nd coach that is more concerned with his own win - loss record than anything to do with a kid (albeit a very talented football player) that OBVIOUSLY has a very real problem.

Hoke made a decision that will hopefully make a change in Stonum's future, whereas Floyd has now learned that he can do whatever, then say he's sorry ... and everything is just fine with the world. One coach has class and the other is class-less, reminds me of that former coach in ohio ... just saying.

Go Blue!

ps - perhaps Stonum's biggest impact is on kickoff returns ....

No place on earth I'd rather be on a football Saturday than Michigan Stadium !

While I agree that a straight comparison to Michael Floyd is definitely a little derpy (especially because Floyd was suspended for the ENTIRE spring game), there is a sharp contrast between what Hoke did and Dantonio's Seven-Strikes-and-You're-OutTM policy.

As much as I want to chime in about something being amiss in how ND disciplines its athletes, I'd like to believe the best in others and hope Floyd did more in the offseason to improve himself and prove to his team he's fully committed in a way Stonum didn't. Also, as a silver line, we're stacked at WR this year, but would've taken a decent hit in 2012 by losing Odoms, Hemmingway and Stonum. This move in fact strikes me as more advantageous to U of M in the long run.

This is the key for anyone who wants to debate BK's punishment (or lack thereof) of Floyd. Leave Stonum out of it as he really got what he deserves and the two have different offenses (Stonums being worse IMHE). Hagerup however, has been suspended for four games (and was suspended one game for his first offense) and one can pretty much be positive that Hagerups 2 offenses are not nearly as serious as Floyd's 3.

Anyway, life goes on and I can say I am very happy with the way Hoke has dealt with this. We can be proud we have a coach who takes rules seriously, even if other programs don't.

As a rule of thumb, I think the punishment from the team should reflect as best as possible the punishment from the law. So for instance, one DUI, you generally get your license suspended briefly (3 months), pay a ton of fines, do various court orders (comm. service, AA meetings, etc.), and probation (probably 1 year). Thus, in football, with one DUI (no prior offenses), you should expect a brief suspension (4 games?), lots of punishment-oriented workouts, and know that if you mess up again, you will be off the team (whether red-shirted or for good). A second DUI while on probation would violate that last rule, meaning off of the team, which is the same way you would expect the law to treat a second DUI while on probation for the first--you won't be able to drive for probably a 6 months to a year and you will likely suffer more severe punishments.

Carrying this over to Floyd's case, you have two prior offenses and a DUI, but I am assuming, maybe incorrectly, that he wasn't on probation when he received the DUI. Anyway, my point is that you would expect at least a brief suspension for a DUI to begin with, and given that he has a prior alcohol record, a court would generally treat this DUI as more serious than a "young kid made one stupid mistake" sort of treatment. I do not think this would mean he gets kicked off of the team, but he would likely see a stiffer license suspension from the court and thus something like 6 games instead of 4 on the field.

Also, I know that this is poorly articulated.

"And when we play as a team, when the old season is over, you and I know, it's gonna be Michigan again, Michigan."

How does not being able to drive for six months to a year correlate with being kicked off the team and potentially losing your future career? If anything redshirting the year correlates better, as the player is straight-up missing a year of games and still having to do the penalty workouts, etc. Then, after his year is up, he can come back and play again (pending any mistakes in the interim) just like you get to drive again after your DUI suspension is up.

Denard has spent the offseason working really hard and smiling at people.

I didn't exactly mean everything to be an exact parallel, but just as a way to think about it. That's also why I said "red shirt or for good." I wouldn't advocate for either player to be completely and forever removed from the team and you're right that would probably be more like a third felonious offense or something.

"And when we play as a team, when the old season is over, you and I know, it's gonna be Michigan again, Michigan."

Has anything like this ever happened before in Michigan football? I've known of several one or two game suspensions. I've never heard of a four game suspension. It sounds pretty severe.

I've definitely never heard of a full season suspension for a non-football related event (several UNC players were suspended for last season due to NCAA violations). Especially since Stonum has "done everything we have asked him to do." I think that this will work out for everybody involved but it seems like uncharted territory.

There may well be a certain "message sending" aspect to this. What a coach does early in his career really does set the tone in a major way for how he is perceived. Thus no matter what Dantonio does in the future, he will always carry a certain stigma from his "18-strikes and you'll totally be out next time" policy, and no matter what Kelly does, he will always be viewed by impartial observers as a man who wants to win at any costs, and doesn't care about the kids around him. Hoke has set the tone - Michigan is a place where discipline really does matter. My bet is the next kid who thinks about screwing around may well think twice, knowing he could forfeit an entire year over it.

I think this disciplinary attitude has long been a strength of Michigan's program. There has been little controversy in comparison to many other programs about the severity of the consequences for misbehavior. The wisdom of Hoke in redshirting Stonum is that it gives Stonum the ability to correct his past mistakes and still participate in the football program. The onus is now on him to cooperate with Hoke and get back on the field. As far as Hagerup and Robinson go, hope they turn it around as well.

...but, I do desire a little "rabble rabble MSU rabble rabble Rucker rabble". Comparing Stonum to Chris L. Rucker seems a lot like apples to apples. Is this just another example why UM is better than MSU. I applaud Hoke and his willingness to enforce tough discipline. Huzzah!

is that he is going to have to be perfect all year and the entire offseason. Do you all think the chances are good he can do that? I'd love to see him make it through this.. but I just don't see it happeneing.

What the hell does Hagerup keep doing? I mean 5 total game suspensions is weird for any player, but a punter?!? Maybe I don't pay attention that much, but a wild punter isn't something I've ever heard of before

I'm missing everyones argument that Stonum is getting a 13 game suspension or whatever we are calling here?! He is redshirting therefore will play all of next season, essentially missing no games in the grand scheme of things. Floyd's punishment? How about being immediately suspended indefinitely from the football team, meaning missing all of spring ball and not being able to attend team functions/workouts/summer school etc...fortunate? Sure, but it was his 1st DUI, and all you mich fans can scream false here because of the blinders... but if he had gotten his 2nd DUI he would not be enrolled at ND anymore and that is a fact. I know it was a different coach but what was Stonum's punishment for the 1st?

What do you mean it's not a punishment? What the hell are you talking about?

He now has to wait a whole year to start his Pro career if he's to make it that far, he has to behave for a year to stay on the team and he has not proven enough to the scouts to be deemed as a can't miss high draft pick, ok? How is that not punishment?

You ND fans man, are so full of shit sometimes. Get your head out of your asses. What Hoke did is for the good of the program long-term. What Kelly did is for the good of Kelly to get to the NFL within 3-5 years.

I would be concerned about that little matter if I were you. See Hoke plans on being around a while, I'm really happy for us and I guess I'm happy for you, LMAO!!!

Are you serious here? You think the fact that a player is suspended for a year is not a punishment but missing spring practice is a big deal? The fact that ND has a player who has three drinking related offenses under his belt and has yet to miss a single game because of it is a joke, plain and simple.

Look at Hagerup, 2 violations of team rules that you can be sure are not even cose to as serious as a DUI and he was suspended the first time for 1 game (the OSU game) and for his second he has 4. You sir, are an idiot.